McWane sues New York company over pollution found decades after foundry acquistion

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - McWane Inc. has sued the company from which it bought an Elmira, N.Y., foundry in 1988, claiming the previous owner is liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses related to cleaning up pollutants it left behind.

In the suit, filed in Circuit Court of Jefferson County, the Birmingham-based pipe and valve company says that 20 years after it bought Kennedy Valve Co. from ITT Fluid Products it discovered high levels of asbestos and lead at a brass foundry it had used for storage. The pollution was discovered by a consultant brought in to assess the facility before McWane was to demolish it.

McWane accuses ITT and its successor company, Xylem Inc., of breach of contract and seeks $641,548, the lost value of 1.5 acres and attorneys fees. The seller remained liable for remaining hazardous waste under the terms of the sale, McWane said.

Efforts to reach an attorney representing the defendants was not immediately successful.